The Vulcan, Cardiff facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Vulcan Hotel |
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The reconstructed Vulcan in 2024
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| Alternative names | The Vulcan Pub |
| General information | |
| Type | Public House |
| Town or city | Cardiff |
| Country | Wales |
| Coordinates | 51°28′42″N 3°10′09″W / 51.478383°N 3.169052°W |
| Completed | 1853 |
| Demolished | 2012 (deconstructed) |
The Vulcan Hotel is a historic hotel and public house, that was located in Adamsdown suburb of Cardiff, South Wales. Scheduled for demolition in 2009, after a long public campaign to preserve what had become one of Cardiff's oldest working public houses, in 2012 it was donated to the National History Museum at St Fagans. A decade-long reconstruction saw the pub reopen on 11 May 2024.
History
The Vulcan Hotel was built in 1853, in the early stages of the expansion of Cardiff and the development of the Adamsdown area of Cardiff, with an original address on Whitmore Lane, Newtown. The name Vulcan, the ancient Roman God of Fire, which it kept throughout its existence, referred to the nearby ironworks.
Close to the bustling railway station of Queen Street and within walking distance of Cardiff Gaol, the pub was south of the Newport Road in the suburb's working-class area. It was frequently busy over lunch times and in the early evening, patronised by working-class people, often of Irish descent.
The building was substantially rebuilt in about 1900, and internally refurbished in 1914 by local architect F. J. Veall, at which time the building was decorated throughout with green and brown ceramic tiles. With a functional and easy-to-clean internal style, while adjoining Victorian buildings were demolished and redeveloped, twice on one side, it remained untouched, both outside and in, except for an occasional coat of paint. The pub retained its brown ceramic urinals, although the rest of the interior was updated in the 1950s. Local writer John Williams commented in 2011:
The place is a total time warp. Inside it's forever 1975. The Brains beer is cheap, the toilets are outside in the rain, and the bikers come down to drink every Saturday lunchtime. It's full of Cardiff history.
The opening, directly opposite the pub, in November 2007, of the Atrium campus of the University of Glamorgan, home to the Cardiff School of Creative & Cultural Industries, gave the pub a substantial potential new customer base.
The Vulcan was voted Cardiff Pub of the Year by the local branch of CAMRA in both 1997 and 2009.
